Re: Evan Williams Single Barrel 1998 unveiling

Originally Posted by fog

I read here that last year's 10 yo bourbon was not distilled at HH due to a fire.

When did they start distilling again? Will this years single barrel be from HH distillate?

The fire happened in November of 1996. Any bottle dated after that would be Jim Beam bourbon. I'm not sure when HH will transition the EWSB back into a HH product but for now, I beleive it is still Beam. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

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Re: Evan Williams Single Barrel 1998 unveiling

EWSB always has a barrel entry date on the label. Anything entered after November of 1996 isn't DSP-31. Some of the 1996 and all of the 1997 is whiskey made at Jim Beam to Heaven Hill's specifications and supervised by Parker and Craig Beam (P&C). Subsequently, Brown-Forman also made whiskey for them, supervised by P&C, etc. Sometime in 1999 they began producing in their new home, the Bernheim facility in Louisville, but it took maybe another year or more before P&C got the operation there the way they wanted it, so these next few years of EWSB will be interesting. They will be the only legacy of the 96 fire that you'll be able to taste.

There seems to be nothing to be concerned about, as the 1997 is very good and perhaps superior to some of the recent DSP-31 vintages. I'm looking forward to tasting the new one next month, much more so than I have looked forward to one in years.

Re: Evan Williams Single Barrel 1998 unveiling

Originally Posted by ggilbertva

The fire happened in November of 1996. Any bottle dated after that would be Jim Beam bourbon. I'm not sure when HH will transition the EWSB back into a HH product but for now, I beleive it is still Beam. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Re: Evan Williams Single Barrel 1998 unveiling

I'm rather a fan of EWSB, although I have not had the opportunity to branch out past the '96 and '97. Thanks to luv2hunt and some lucky dusty hunting expeditions, I have a collection that runs '90-'97, but since most are solo bottles, I don't want to open them quite yet.

I find EWSB to be a subtler, and quite elegant whiskey. It requires a bit more effort than some bourbons to tease out its complexities, but it rewards the attentive and the patient.

• • •

Mark

I love him whose soul squanders itself, who wants no thanks...for he always gives away and does not want to preserve himself.
-Nietzsche